18.12.11

My 2 best winter buys must be the cashmere leggings I got in the COS sale (and have taken off so rarely that I fear they might have become a fluffy 2nd skin – meh meh) and the silk bathrobe I found in a jumbled vintage shop on my last trip to Berlin (together with a fur cape, but that's for another time)… All in all the perfect combination for starting a routine of playing cards, watching Harry Potter 1-7 and getting intoxicated on a cookies-turkey-tea-alcohol diet, ending the year in a flurry of resolutions – get lots of tattoos, be more sporty, sell 90% of my belongings, stop trying to paint my nails… which might see the light of reality, or not.

But before I sign off I want to say a BIG BIG Thank You to everyone who bothers to stop by. Whatever your plans for 2012… Wishing you a good one! ♥ ♥ ♥

12.12.11

'twas a bit like a premature Christmas when the parcel arrived, because I love everything about this winter dress: the architectural 60s cut, the pure wool fabric, the oxblood colour, the sweatshirt pockets, the impeccable finish – and that it leaves space for the soon bound-to-bulge-because-of-eating-masses-of-cookies midriff area.

So I've been wearing it a lot already – mostly just with a black turtleneck, opaque tights and the ol' Givenchy boots, but with Christmas around the corner I thought I'd lounge around and merry it up a bit with high heels and satin trousers.

With everyone receiving different dresses the organisation proved quite a challenge – for most of us the dresses worked out fine, but poor Ellie had a real struggle – which she explains on her blog. Also, don't miss to check out how the other Take Tenners Sarah, MJ, Sherin, Vicki, Susie, Paula, Harriet and Jen have decorated their Christmas dresses.

6.12.11

I could get myself some knitting patterns, but that would make life easy and deprive me of some strangely shaped sweaters… Still working on the perfect raglan sleeve, and created some stripy costumes along the way. ♥ ♥ ♥

4.12.11

When the invitations to take part in an intimate cocktail making class with Dita von Teese were sent out I bet the RSVPs came back quicker than you can say 'Cointreau Privé' – which is the newest, time-limited, members only cocktail lounge* in London, styled after the art deco home and ambassadored by the owner of what must be the slimmest waist (22in, can be laced down to 16.5in!) in the world.

Meeting Dita was pretty cool. Not only does she look as perfect in real life as in pictures – tiny, dream proportions, expertly make-uped and dressed (Dolce and Gabbana, I asked her) – but she's also funny, soft spoken and relaxed, talking us (with the help of a flashy bartender) through the in and outs of preparing the Citrus & Spice cocktail** which was so delicious that I just kept drinking… becoming happier and chattier by the minute, leaving a perfect evening... (& now hoping there isn't a secret 'bloggers who cannot cope with alcohol' list created somewhere.)

30.11.11

The other day we stumbled into the 'Navigating in the Dark' exhibition in the crypt of St Pankras church. As I'm feeling lazy with words these days I'll just say the sculptures of Kalliopi Lemos... blow my mind.

29.11.11

I love me some uniform these days - and blame Pan Am... It's only just started here in the UK, but aren't you also already feeling the style impact? So sleek, so chic... so perfect for long wintery sofa nights.

As seen on the Simply Yours press breakfast… Aiyaa, there was some stewardess-worthy underwear, too.

But I never quite understood why one would spend a fortune on a cleanser. Sure thing, I love Aesop's Parsley Seed Cleansing Oil like anyone – but, hey, it's recession and I'm a DIY devotée, and Christmas is around the corner (and Black Friday shopping madness is happening as we speak)… So here goes my super simple Parsley Lavender Cleansing Oil:

Just throw1 handful of parsley seeds1 handful of lavender seeds1 spoon of lemon juice1 cup of olive oilin a blender and mix-mix-mix until you've got a smooth paste.** Fill into a pretty bottle (and keep the rest in the fridge or freezer). Et voilà!, your own cleansing oil. No nasties and so cheap!*** Now, do you have a skin care product you swear on?

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*And pleeeaaase don't tell me Anti-Aging creams don't work. I heard it all, but some hopes I'm not prepared to let die.**You could let the oil run through a sieve to take out the seedy bits, but personally I think they add some nice scrubbing action.***You don't have handfuls of parsley and lavender seeds?!? Lets start planting.

21.11.11

Being in the firm grips of my inner autumn sloth I virtually jumped at the offer to try out the miracle hotpants which promise to help you lose weight and cellulite by just wearing them 30 minutes a day. YES! Send them over, prontissimo, please!!

Day 1: The magical item arrives, looking like a wetsuit - making me wonder if I could make my own Lisa Marie Fernandez bikini from it. There's also a folder full with happy women who've lost loads of weight. The folder* looks good in the bathroom between the creams, I find. (*unopened).

Day 2: Full of anticipation I put them on for the 15-minutes-jumping-around-in-ashtanga-yoga-style morning routine. Can't feel anything, but when I take them off – yesss, slightly sweaty. Success.

Day 3: Forget to wear them. Day 4: Wear them for playing tennis (feeling extremely silly, even with shorts on top). After 1 hour: 'Okay, I might have lost, but just check out how HOT my thighs are!' Hubs: 'So what, you'll just overheat, and sweating in one body area doesn't mean you'll actually lose weight there.'

Day 5: Desperate email to the Zaggora people; they email back: No worries… 'Studies have revealed that for every gram sweat you produce you also burn 0.5 calorie as your heart works harder to circulate blood around the body.' Mmmh.Day 6 ff: Back to usual laziness. Wondering if the pants could be used as fashion item. If I turn them inside out I could try to create a fitness-fetish look…

Resumée: Yeap, le 'otpants make you sweat – the more you move the better (duh). Lazy slugs can sign up for my bikini diy class…

15.11.11

#17 is about the LBD and… Take 10's first print feature. Yeap, we are in the December issue of Company – which I think is pretty exciting; although when I read my little blurb I was slightly confused… 'rockier vibe'?! Have I really said this or am I leaking brain cells? No, turns out our texts were gently adapted. Believe me, I would NOT say things like this. I'd rather stutter along these lines:

The dress has a nice angular neckline and is pretty short, aka sexy (yeap, stating the obvious).When I first saw it I had a fleeting vision of sexy nuns (blame my catholic upbringing).Nuns = black & white. Tattoos seemed obligatory. Result.

We've got to talk tattoos. Urgently. I don't know how much longer I can fend off the pull of the ink parlour.

14.11.11

Short days, long nights…. What else is there to do but dancing the night away like there's not tomorrow spending the moonlit hours on the knitting machine, trying to get some colour into my life. I had an idea how this 7-piece sweater should turn out, but by the life of me couldn't draw it; so in the end it had to grow on the machine in surprising shapes and forms…

According to long-standing tradition every new knit piece has to be baptised by aimless wonderings over nebulous fields. Tradition #2: The colder the days, the more colourful the designs. You'll see.

8.11.11

How often have Berliners told me that the local ways are not rude, no, they are just HONEST because all these Americans and English – well, they just lie with their smiley faces and their howdyaddo attitude… Not that much has changed, and 10 years later I can still do without the honesty, but I do really miss a few things badly:

1) The cycling. Shortly after having learned to walk we were thrown on our little 2-wheelers, and from then on we'd cycle everywhere. The roads are broad, the city flat, there are cycling paths in abundance and the car-drivers are well trained (mainly through my brother's habit of banging the car roof if someone really stuuupid dares to overlook a cyclist). It's cheap, keeps you fit and is the best way to get around (and when it's freezing, you just piggyback your bicycle into the public transport for a little warm-up).2) The cafés. Not much to explain. Living in your café is the continental way.3) Big rooms, high ceilings. I know there's still a vast, empty loft waiting for me – somewhere, some day.4) My sister's wardrobe. She's got a room for her clothes. How Carrie* Bradshaw is that?!5) Actually, my whole family… aah, let's not get sentimental.

3.11.11

The pretty-pretty waist cincher arrived the day before I had to rush to Berlin and just about made it into the always-way-too-small-but-I-cannot-afford to pay-for-more easyjet hand luggage (and who's got the time to wait for a suitcase anyway?!), but then I had nothing to go with it. Luckily my sister's man has some cool suits (a curve enhancing accessory needs some balance, don't you think?)... So while everyone went to work and preschool and kindergarten I hung out in the kids' room mulling over my props.

Big Thanks to Boticca for introducing themselves and for offering me to pick something from their amazing collection. It wasn't an easy choice as the jewellery is really beautiful, too, and I love the whole concept of creating a platform to support independent artists and where you can buy directly from the designers (& with wrapping like this my ♥ is yours forever).